Nobody could accuse Nikolay Davydenko of being a dullard. The Russian has survived contested match-fixing allegations, enlivened the upper reaches of the world rankings for four years with his quirky world view and when asked to talk about Andy Murray, his opponent in the first round at Wimbledon on Tuesday, he all but accused the Scot of trying to con opponents by feigning indifference or injury.

Soon, tennis will tire of the Murray "drama queen" saga inspired by Virginia Wade a month ago but Davydenko, a born controversialist, was happy to add a postscript. "We just laugh," he said of the locker-room consensus on Murray's on-court demeanour.

"Sometimes he walks on court, he looks tired, like he doesn't want to run any more and then he runs like an animal. He has done that all his career. He's, like: 'Ah, I don't want to play any more.' Then he starts returning and running and you see his condition is very good. Maybe it is a special Scottish thing.

"It doesn't matter what he says; he will fight for everything, he will try to win. He may have a pain somewhere but if you ask any player they will all say they have pains here and there. Nobody says they are perfect. It's just not possible."

These have been a tricky few weeks for Murray, the world No4. He was seriously inconvenienced by back problems during the French Open and did well to get as far as he did, although his defeat by David Ferrer in the quarter-final left him flat, as did losing to Nicolas Mahut in the first round at Queen's, where he held the title. Perhaps the continued sniping will inspire him, as he has often proved at his most dangerous when cornered.

In the traffic jam at the top of the men's game, Murray is waiting for a gap that has hitherto not presented itself for more than a match here and there. Nobody could accuse him of complacency – not even Davydenko. "There are a lot of dangerous players in the event, on grass on any day," Murray said, looking forward to the first week of a tournament in which he has reached three semi-finals in a row.

"For example, [Tomas] Berdych beat [Roger] Federer a couple of years ago, [Jo‑Wilfried] Tsonga beat Federer last year. There are big players with big games who, on any given day, can give the top guys problems by playing their best tennis."

For Murray, the fortnight is a long haul best approached cautiously. "I have to make sure I play my best tennis, not necessarily at the start. I need to find a way of getting through the first few matches."

So, are expectations lower? "I don't know. I haven't asked the public whether they think I'm going to win the tournament or not. If I was not to prepare properly and then go out and lose in the second round, I'd look back and think: 'Why did I do that?'

"The more you play in the grand slams, the more you realise how much they mean to you, how hard they are to win and do well at … that you can't get away with not preparing properly and it's something over the last three or four years I'd say I'd done very well, and that's why my results have got better."